Corsage pin

ABSTRACT

A PIN FOR A CORSAGE OR THE LIKE WHICH INCLUDES A BODY PORTION AND A PAIR OF ARMS EACH CONNECTED BY A LOOP TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE BODY PORTION AND HAVING A POINT ON THE FREE END THEREOF WHICH IS ADAPTED TO PIERCE THE STEM OF THE CORSAGE AND THE CLOTHING OF THE USER, RESPECTIVELY. RETAINING MEANS IS PROVIDED ON ONE OF SAID ARMS TO PROVIDE LATERAL SUPPORT TO THE ARM AND A GRIPPING ACTION ON THE STEM TO PREVENT ITS EASY REMOVAL FROM THE CORSAGE.

March 16;, 1971 R. H. Ross v 3,570,070

' CORSAGE PIN Filed Sept. 11, 1969 '52 24 2 4J IHW'HI'IUI:

- ROBERT H. Ross HY United States Patent O 3,570,070 CORSAGE PIN Robert H. Rose, 109 Vassar Road, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603 Filed Sept. 11, 1969, Ser. No. 857,040 Int. Cl. A45f 5/08 US. Cl. 24-6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pin for a corsage or the like which includes a body portion and a pair of arms each connected by a loop to opposite ends of the body portion and having a point on the free end thereof which is adapted to pierce the stem of the corsage and the clothing of the user, respectively. Retaining means is provided on one of said arms to provide lateral support to the arm and a gripping action on the stem to prevent its easy removal from the corsage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to pins and more particularly to an improved corsage pin intended primarily for attaching flowers to the clothing.

It is well known that it is customary to use a long straight pin for the purpose of attaching a corsage to the clothing. Such pins are usually inserted through the clothing and the wrapped flower stems along a horizontal line so that the corsage is suspended from the middle of the pin. This arrangement is not wholly satisfactory, for example, the wearer is quite likely to stick herself accidentally with the pin attaching the corsage or while wearing it.

The prior art discloses various attempts to provide a corsage pin to overcome the objections of using a straight pin, none of which are known to be in commercial use at the present time. One such prior art device is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,613,412, which discloses a corsage pin which is really no more than two straight pins extending in opposite directions joined together by a shank. The side portion must first be separated from the shank even before the pin may be used.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide a corsage pin which will retain the corsage in any desired position and which may be quickly attached to both the corsage and the clothing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pin which will not cause wrinkling or tearing of the clothing, and will be retained in place relative to the stem of the corsage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pin which makes a single opening through the clothing rather than a plurality and which is so shaped as to make it unlikely that the wearer will accidentally stick herself.

Another further object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive easily constructed pin which may be quickly attached to the corsage at the time it is made by the florist and be retained in place with respect thereto and which may be readily detached therefrom and attached in any desired position by the wearer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A pin for use with a corsage or like floral arrangement which includes a body portion, a first arm, and a second 3,570,070 Patented Mar. 16, 1971 arm, each arm having a point at its free end connected by a loop to respective opposite ends of the body portion and extending in generally contacting relation therewith. The first arm has its associated point in spaced relation to the body portion to permit insertion thereof within the stem of the flower. Retaining means is provided on the first arm so that once the desired position within the stem is reached it will stay in place under normal conditions. This is important in that when the second arm is inserted within the garment several attempts may be made until the desired position is obtained, if the retaining means was not provided then the corsage would be free to slip off the pin requiring another person to get the corsage straight. Gripping means in the form of a hooked portion is provided adjacent the point on the second arm to permit manual separation from the body portion by the user of the pin to permit its ready insertion through the clothing of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the inven tion itself, and the manner in which it may be made and used, may be better understood by referring to the fol lowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1, is a view showing a person wearing a corsage supported by the pin of this invention;

FIG. 2, is a sectional view taken along line 22 in FIG. 1, showing the pin in assembled position with the garment;

FIG. 3, is a side view of the pin; and

FIG. 4, is a front view of the pin.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment of the pin 10 of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2-4. The pin 10 comprises a single length of resilient wire 12 which is bent to the configuration shown. The pin 10 may be used with any ornament worn such as a boutonniere or a corsage 14 as seen in FIG. 1, to secure the stem 15 thereof to the garment 16 of the user 18. The pin 10 includes a straight body portion 20 that extends the axial length of the pin 10 and a first arm 22 which extends in parallel relationship to the body portion 20 and joined together by a rounded enlarged first loop 24. The first arm 22 extends adjacent to the body portion 20 and preferably in contacting relation therewith along portions thereof and terminates in a point 25 on the free end thereof.

The first arm 22 is adapted to be inserted in the stem 15 of the corsage 14, which corsage may be made in any conventional manner. An important consideration of the invention is to maintain and prevent the pin 10 from relative axial movement between the stem 15 and first arm 22, when the user 18 wears the pin 10 and is active such as when dancing, etc. Accordingly, retaining means 26 is provided on the first arm 22 adjacent the point 25 and separated by a shank 28. The retaining means 26 includes a convex portion 30 and concave portion 32 adjacent each other, with sufficient depth of curvature to provide axial restraint to any relative movement between the stem 15 and first arm 22. Since the stem 15 is of a plyable material it encompasses the valleys and ridges of the retaining means 26 so that a minimum force will not free the first arm 22 from within the stem 15.

The number of convex portions 30 and concave portions 32 may vary as desired but to provide the requisite amount of restraint the retaining means 26 should commence from the first loop 24 a distance substantially equal to one half the axial length of the first arm 22. The convex portion 30 and the concave portion 32 may be symmetrical to each other, with the convex portion 30 including an inwardly extending section 34 connected to said shank 28 at one end thereof and an arcuate section 35 curved away from the body portion 20 and connected to an arcuate section 36 extending towards the body portion 20 and terminating in an outwardly extending section 37 connected to the first arm 22.

A second arm 40 is provided and connected by a rounded enlarged second loop 42 to the body portion 20 at the other end thereof and extending adjacent thereto along its axial length and terminating in a point 44 on the free end thereof. To prevent the user from accidentally sticking herself when the pin is handled or when secured to the garment 16. The point 44 is terminated below the end 45 of the first loop 24. The second arm 40 extends adjacent to the body portion and preferably in contacting relation therewith along portions thereof.

Besides the point 44 not extending beyond the end 45 it has been found desirable to likewise have it confined within the plane defined by the marginal side edge 46 of the first loop 24. As seen in FIG. 4, the point 44 does not protrude beyond the exterior planes, either horizontal as bounded by end 45, or the vertical plane bounded by the edge 46. Since the second arm 40 is in contact with the body portion 20, so as to apply a compressive force to the garment 16 when secured in place, a separation or spacing of small dimension between the point 44 and body portion 20 or first loop 24 may be provided.

To permit the separation prior to use of the second arm 40 and body portion 20 gripping means is provided in the form of a hooked portion 50 formed on the second arm 40 and including an outwardly directed curved section 52 terminating in the point 44 which flares ontwardly at a slightly greater rate than the curvature of the first loop 24 to provide the separation therebetween.

The preferred method of using the pin 10 of this invention is to first insert the first arm 22 into the stem 15 by engaging the point and moving the pin inwardly until the position illustrated in FIG. 2 is reached. The retaining means 26 provides the lateral support required and the convex portion and concave portion 32 the necessary axial restraint to prevent slippage between the first arm 22 and stem 15. The lateral spacing L between the point 25 and the second loop 42 may be in the order of one quarter inch so that the point 25 may be pushed directly into the stem 15 without any manual separation of the first arm 22, and this permits the user to retain the pin 10 in one hand and the corsage stem 15 in the other. Once the corsage is on the pin 10 then the second arm 40 is adapted to be inserted through the fabric 16. This is accomplished by the users fingers generally engaging the gripping means formed by the hooked portion 50 and separating the second arm 40 to permit the point 44 to pierce the fabric 16, and continue its downward movement until the position in FIG. 2 is reached The point 44 extends outwardly as discussed above which makes it easy to stick into clothing and by its being curved out to protect the person.

In a preferred form the pin may be about three inches in length with the retaining means starting about one and one-half inches from the end 45, and extending outwardly from the body portion 20 about one quarter inch with the hooked portion 50 extending outwardly on the opposite side of the body portion by say one sixteenth inch, and the total width of the pin being about five sixteenths inches. Obviously, the size and shape may be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A pin for use with a corsage or like object having a stem, and formed from a single length of resilient wire, the combination including:

(A) a body portion,

(B) a first arm connected by a rounded enlarged first loop to said body portion at one end thereof and extending adjacent thereto along its length, and terminating in a point on the free end thereof,

(C) a second arm connected by a rounded enlarged second loop to said body portion at its other end thereof and extending adjacent thereto along its length, and terminating in a point on the free end thereof below the end of said first loop, and

(D) retaining means formed on said first arm adjacent said point and including a convex portion and a concave portion adjacent each other and adapted to ex tend within a stem of a corsage, wherein restraint against axial movement between said first arm and the corsage is provided.

2. A pin as in claim 1, and further including a hooked portion formed on said second arm and including an outwardly directed curved section terminating adjacent said point.

3. A pin as in claim 2, wherein said point is adjacent to and extends outwardly from said first loop at its free end to provide a spacing therebetween and said point being below the marginal edge of said first loop, wherein said point is not engageable until said second arm is separated from said body portion.

4. A pin as in claim 1, wherein said retaining means commences from said first loop a distance substantially equal to one half the length of said first arm.

5. A pin as in claim 1, wherein said convex portion is connected to said point by a straight shank portion.

6. A pin as in claim 5, wherein said convex and concave portions include an inwardly extending section connected to said shank at one end thereof, and an arcuate section extending away from said body portion and connected to an arcuate section extending towards said body portion and terminating in an outwardly extending section connected to said first arm.

7. A pin as in claim 1, wherein said arms and said shaft member are normally in contacting relation to each other.

8. A pin as in claim 1, wherein said point on said first arm is in spaced relation to said body portion to permit ready insertion within a stem of a corsage.

9. A pin as in claim 1,

(a) wherein said retaining means commences from said first loop a distance substantially equal to one half the length of said first arm, and

(b) wherein said arms and said shaft member are normally in contacting relation to each other.

10. A pin for use with a corsage or like object having a stem, and formed from a single length of resilient wire, the combination including:

(A) a body portion,

(B) a first arm connected by a rounded enlarged first loop to said body portion at one end thereof and extending adjacent thereto along its length, and terminating in a point on the free end thereof, said point being in spaced relation to said body portion to permit ready insertion within a stem of a corsage,

(C) a second arm connected by a rounded enlarged second loop to said body portion at its other end thereof and extending adjacent thereto along its length, and terminating in a point on the free end thereof below the end of said first loop, and said point being below the marginal edge of said first loop, wherein said point is not engageable until said second arm is separated from said body portion,

(1)) a hooked portion formed on said second arm adacent said point, and

(E) retaining means formed on said first arm adjacent Sald Point and including a convex portion and a concave portion adjacent each other and adapted to extend within a stern of a corsage, said convex and concave portions include an inwardly extending section connected to said shank at one end thereof, and an arcuate section extending away from said body portion and connected to an arcuate section extending towards said body portion and terminating in an outwardly extending section connected to said first arm, wherein restraint against axial movement between said first arm and the corsage is provided.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 24-87 

